Rebirth
by Anime Angel8
Summary: (Tasuki/Chichiri YAOI) Reincarnation fic. chapter 3 is up!
1. Default Chapter

Yes it is a modern day reincarnation fic, which occurs after the second OAV (although some of the flashbacks take place before the second OAV). If the rumors about the third OAV coming out are true then I guess that would make this an A/U too huh? I was going to make this a humor at first but it seems destined to be a serious fic. Oh well, this will still be fun to write (and hopefully to read)   
WARNING: This fic does contain YAOI that's male/male or homosexual material. If you can't handle it then DON'T READ IT. I have little patience for prejudice.   
DISCLAIMER: I don't own Fushigi Yuugi (sniff sniff) it belongs to Yu Watase. ****************************************************************************************************************** 

_"Oi, Chichiri, when are we going to stop my feet are tired." The redhead bandit called up to his companion a few feet ahead. Chichiri sighed, he supposed by now he should be used to the constant complaining, but it was starting to grate on his nerves. Not to mention that the heat was starting to get to him._   
_"We'll be there by nightfall Tasuki, no da." He said simply. After about ten minutes of fidgeting, Chichiri stopped. "Tasuki-kun, why don't you tell me what's bothering you, na no da." He pulled a canteen out from his kesa and handed it over to Tasuki. Tasuki stopped, looking suspiciously at the canteen before taking a drink. Chichiri waited patiently for him to finish. Whatever was bothering Tasuki had been eating at him for a while, and, in the interests of preserving his sanity, Chichiri was determined to get it out in the open. It took about five minutes of silence for the bandit to blurt out what was on his mind._   
_"Er . . .do monks have ta, you know . . . " Tasuki was looking at him intensely, a strange, almost pained expression on his face. For some reason Chichiri could feel a blush begin to rise in his face and he thanked the Gods that he was wearing his mask. Tasuki looked away for a moment, as if he was struggling with something. Whatever this is must really be hard for him, Chichiri thought with concern._   
_"Yes, no da? Tasuki, whatever you need to ask me . . .you don't need to be nervous, na no da, just ask."_   
_" . . .take vows of . . .chastity?" Tasuki finally muttered._   
_"Chastity, no da?" Chichiri blinked in astonishment, he hadn't really expected this line of inquiry. "Yes," he said hesitantly, " most do. It depends on the order really, no da. Why do you ask?" A blush began to creep onto Tasuki's face. "Are you thinking of becoming a monk, Tasuki-kun?" Chichiri asked, now completely confused._   
_"Fuck, no!" He said fervently, a look of horror crossing his face. "I was just . . .uh . . .wondering why you decided to become a monk . . .that's all." Chichiri winced and turned away. Tasuki had seen him without the mask but he didn't know the story behind the scar._   
_"It's kind of a long story, no da. Besides, I never formally took the oaths, anyway." He said dismisivly. A long period of silence followed that statement._   
_"You didn't?"_   
_"No, I am a Suzaku sheishi after all, no da. Besides, Taitsukun said that it would be inappropriate for a man who serves the god of love to take a vow of chastity. So I never did." Tasuki stared at Chichiri with such an intense expression on his face, Chichiri felt his breath catch in his throat. He reached out to take the canteen from Tasuki, hoping to break this new, strange tension between them._   
_"We should get going, Tasuki no da . . ." Chichiri broke off when Tasuki grabbed his wrist and pulled him up against him. Their gazes met and Chichiri found himself unable to look away. He watched in astonishment as Tasuki lowered his head, gently brushing his lips . . ._

"Houjun!" The rough shaking jerked Houjun awake, leaving him only with the vague feeling that he had forgotten something important. Houjun looked around at the now empty auditorium and then glanced up. His two friends Hikou and Mai-Lin were looking down at him, grinning in amusement.   
"I fell asleep didn't I, no da." He sighed, reaching into his pocket for his wallet. What a waste, he had really been looking forward to this lecture too.   
"You sure did," Mai-Lin crowed in delight, "that's twenty bucks you owe me pal! I _told you_ Yakamura's lecture would put you to sleep. Why anyone would want to spend two hours listening to moldy old Chinese legends is beyond me."   
"You were really out of it." Hikou added in amusement as he watched Houjun gather his stuff. "Did you have another dream about- "   
"No!" Houjun lied, cutting him off quickly. The last thing he wanted was for Hikou to start with that imaginary friend business again. He had enough problems without adding his dreams into the mix. _Fantasies_, his mind insisted as he caught a fleeting image of a gentle kiss. Houjun gritted his teeth, people already thought he was odd, the last thing he wanted was for people to think he was crazy too. Unfortunatly, Mai-Lin was just the sort of person who never left you alone when she wanted to know something.   
"Dream about what?" She asked in curiosity. Houjun groaned, sending a silent wish to the heavens that Hikou would keep his mouth shut about this. It was apparently too much to hope for because Hikou immediately began to spill.   
"I've known Houjun since we were kids, and ever since then he's had these reoccurring dreams. The first time I saw it happen I was sleeping over, he scared me senseless. I woke up to him screaming 'Tasuki' over and over again."   
"Tasuki?"   
"Yeah get this, there's the same guy in every one of his dreams, named Tasuki. And let me tell you, according to Houjun, this dream guy is pretty intense . . ."   
"Ok, ok, no da. Enough already!" Houjun began to blush fiercely, he _definitely_ did not want to go there.   
Mai-Lin watched his expression in amusement, feeling herself begin to blush in response. Even with the scar covering his left eye, he was very attractive. Although she knew that he didn't think so. It had taken both Hikou and herself a couple of years to build his self-image up to the point where he was comfortable in public. Poor Houjun, she thought, he needs other friends besides Hikou and me. Mai-Lin felt a wave of guilt wash through her, she hadn't exactly encouraged Houjun to make other friends. On the contrary, it had been kind of nice being one of only two people he really opened up to. And she knew that, somewhere deep in her heart, she was waiting for Houjun to notice her as a woman rather than as his best friend.   
Houjun, on the other hand, was completely oblivious to Mai-Lin's thoughts. He was preoccupied with the subject of his dreams. He always woke up with little to no memory of them. According to Hikou he had the habit of talking in his sleep, and apparently he'd said some . . .disturbing things . . .in some of them. The erotic ones hadn't bothered him so much, although they had been kind of embarrassing. What bothered him were the ones which had him waking up screaming, with only the vague memory of something horrible. He shook his head trying to clear his mind of the images lurking right out of reach.   
"Let's go to the Union for dinner, no da. I'll buy." He said cheerily, plastering a happy smile across his face and mentally crossing his fingers. Hikou never turned down an offer for free food. As he predicted, Hikou jumped at the offer, deciding that he had better stop heckling Houjun if he was going to get fed. 

"I still don't see why we had ta come here Genroe, I mean I sure as hell ain't going to college." Kouji growled, picking at his food. Genroe growled back, he had had it up to here with Kouji's complaining.   
"It ever occur to you that maybe I want to be good at somethin' other than beating the crap outta people?" Genroe yelled, jumping to his feet. "What the hell are you people looking at? Go back to yer food." He shouted when he realized that he was now the center of attention. He sat back down, disgusted with the world in general.   
"I'm just sayin' that ever since you moved in with that pair of goody-goodies . . ."   
"Taka and Miaka are not goody-goodies!"   
"Whatever, all I'm sayin' is that you just haven't been the same Genroe."   
_That's because I'm Tasuki now, too,_ Genroe thought to himself miserably. Shit, sometimes he wished he hadn't run into Taka and Miaka and gotten his memories back. It was so confusing, trying to meld the memories of two lifetimes, not to mention two cultures. Taka and Miaka were the only ones who knew what he was going through, and, although they did everything they could to help him out, he always felt like a bit of a third wheel. It wouldn't be so bad if the others were here, but after three months of searching he was starting to lose hope that he would ever find them. _And Chichiri . . ._he felt his throat tighten. He had resolved not to think about Chichiri, it only made him feel that much more alone. He brutally pushed his thoughts aside and returned his attention to Kouji.   
" . . .not to mention the way you've been neglecting the gang. They all think you've gone soft, it's pathetic."   
Genroe shrugged dismissively, "Let 'em come if their so damn certain I've gone soft." He grinned, his powers had come back with his memories and that meant a lot of burned backside if anyone started giving him a hassle. He bit back a curse as he was whacked from behind by a stray elbow.   
"Sorry about that, no da." A cheery voice said behind him. Genore froze, all of the hair on the back of his neck standing straight up. _Was it just my imagination or did that guy just say . . ._He tuned Kouji out completely, focusing entirely on the group seating themselves behind him. _Suzaku, please Suzaku . . ._   
"So you planning on sticking with history, Houjun?"   
_Houjun . . .Houjun Ri was Chichiri's name . . Oh my God_   
"Yep, no da, it's either that or religion. I'm not much interested in anything else, na no da."   
_I'm scared to look, what if it's not him . . .shit, what if it IS him . . ._   
"Genroe, are you even listening to me buddy? Helllloooooo, Genroe?" Genroe turned, glancing nonchalantly at the person behind him. Tall, thin, blue hair pulled back into a pony tail, it was definitely Chichiri.   
_I've got to tell Taka and Miaka._   
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So what'd you guys think? And no I'm not going to have Tasuki run up to Chichiri just yet, I have a definite plan for the way things are going to play out. Anyway the more people review, the more incentive I have to write more chapters, lol. It's just a request, I'm not going to make it a requirement or anything ;). I know a lot of people don't like this couple but they happen to be one of my favorites, even though they aren't a couple in the show. I am however trying to make it somewhat true to the show, so I hope to keep the flavor authentic if nothing else. And there will be a bit more plot in later chapters.   
__


	2. Bar Fight

Been long enough since the last chapter? I'm actually really sorry about that, I intended for this chapter to be uploaded a while ago. Lack of internet connection is a bad thing. I had no connection all summer. But I'm back at school now. The love of my life is going to another country however, and I won't see him again for months :(. Oh well, I'll just have to write more fanfiction to keep myself busy wont I? (((smiles through tears)))) I'll try not to make this too angsty or anything. But hey, a little angst is good for you . . . 

  
~   
"Taka, Miaka!" Genroe yelled slamming the front door open in his haste. He looked around but nobody was downstairs. That's odd, he thought. A creaking noise from the ceiling drew his attention. He grinned, and ran upstairs, taking the stairs three at a time. "I found him, you guys, I found Chi-" He stopped as he burst into the bedroom and got a good look at what they were doing.   
"AHHHHHH!!!" The scream echoed through the neighborhood. "NOT AGAIN!!!!!!!!"   
Fifteen minutes later a somewhat bruised Genroe and Taka sat glaring at each other from either ends of the table while an enthusiastic Miaka yelled excitedly into the phone.   
"That's right Keisuke, Tasuki saw him at your old school. All we need to do is get him over here so he can read the book and then . . ."   
Taka leaned over the table and growled at Genroe. "At least YOUR love life seems to be going well. Thanks a lot."   
"Hey, how was I supposed to know you'd be doing . . .THAT in the middle of the day!" Genroe growled back, baring his fangs. "And don't you dare make jokes about me'n Chiri!"   
"Tetsuya still attends classes over there? Hey that's not a bad idea . . ." Miaka replied brightly to the phone.   
"Sorry." Taka looked somewhat apologetic. "I miss them too y'know. And I guess this means I still owe Nuriko money." He added as an after thought. Leave it to Taka to obsess over a bet made a lifetime ago, Genroe thought in amusement.   
"For what?" He asked. Taka blushed and then grinned.   
"Heh heh, well Nuriko bet me ten bucks that you two would get together eventually. It seemed like such a sure thing too. I mean, who would have thought that you and CHICHIRI would . . ."   
"Hey, what the hell is THAT supposed to mean? LEKKA-"   
"Not in the house TASUKI!"   
"SHINEN!!"   
"Uh Keisuke, I better call you back." 

_It was night, Miaka and Taka had returned to their world, the others had been reborn, and Tasuki and Chichiri were alone once again. They had stopped in town to resupply and had rented a room in the local inn. This was no big deal, except for the fact that the room they had paid for only had one bed, which meant that Tasuki and Chichiri had to share. So there lay Chichiri, wide awake in the middle of the night, with a tossing Tasuki laying next to him. It was funny, even after so much time together Chichiri couldn't seem to get the picture of Tasuki's kiss out of his mind._   
_I wonder why he did that, Chichiri asked himself for what had to be the millionth time. For some reason, being this close to Tasuki brought back memories of the kiss. The kiss that had happened more than a year ago. The kiss that Chichiri had immediately laughed off as one of Tasuki's jokes. He probably **was **just joking, Chichiri sighed, this is Tasuki after all, He thought to himself._   
_Tasuki rolled over, mumbling in his sleep. He's so cute when he sleeps no da, Chichiri thought fondly. Tasuki began to move again, this time making noises like he was in pain. Chichiri frowned, I wonder what he's dreaming about? Tasuki began to whimper and Chichiri hesitantly placed a hand on his shoulder to comfort him. This seemed to calm Tasuki somewhat and he spoke again , only this time his words weren't muffled, and they struck straight to Chichiri's heart._   
_"I love you, Chichiri"_

"I don't know Hikou, a bar no da? Won't Kouran be expecting you back?" Houjun said hesitantly into the phone, rubbing the sleep from his eye. He hadn't been getting enough sleep lately and it was making him drift off at the oddest hours. His dreams had also been getting more frequent and intense. The most frustrating thing was that he could hardly remember any of them. He sighed, at least this time the dream had been pleasant, and, from the state his body was in, it had probably been about Tasuki, the mysterious dream lover.   
"Don't worry, I told her I was taking you out tonight. You need some cheering up. Besides, you know I hate drinking alone" Hikou replied brightly.   
"All right, no da." Houjun gave in, surrendering to the inevitable. "I'll be ready to go in a half-hour, come pick me up then."   
The Bar in question turned out to be fairly decent as such places went. Houjun wasn't very big on drinking so he didn't have much experience with bars. Hikou and he took a table in the corner, tucked away from the crowd. Hikou seemed more inclined to drink than to talk so Houjun studied his surroundings. His eye was drawn by a flash of red, and he watched with interest as two patrons sat down at a table a ways away from his. Two patrons that seemed strangely. . .familiar . . . The acoustics were such that their conversation traveled clearly to his table.   
"I can't believe Miaka kicked us out!" The red head complained to his companion.   
"Tasuki, you incinerated half of the kitchen. You know how she gets about that kind of thing."   
"I told you, women are nothin' but trouble."   
They said some other things but Houjun wasn't paying attention. One word kept echoing in his mind, Tasuki. It's impossible, he thought to himself in shock. Tasuki isn't real, he's just a figment of my imagination. He looked back over at the red head and an image of that same red head welled up from his subconscious and flashed before his eyes. I must _really _need to get some more sleep, Houjun thought, shaking his head as if to rid himself of the mental image. I'm starting to fantasize about total strangers.   
"Hello, earth to Houjun." Hikou said, waving his hand in front of his face. "What are you spacing out about? Your face is a red as a cherry tomato." Houjun shrunk back into the shadows as Hikou's voice, obviously as a result of the alcohol, started to carry across the room.   
That's when the red head looked over, his eyes widening as his gaze met Houjun's and held. His gaze was magnetic and Houjun felt helpless to pull away. His breath quickened as the golden gaze burned into him. His companion also looked over and choked on his sake when he saw Houjun's face.   
Houjun broke away from his gaze, misinterpreting their stares. He turned his head so that his bangs fell over his scar. What had he been thinking? That man over there wasn't his dream lover, he had just been staring at his scar. His face burned with shame. It was the same everywhere, it didn't matter how smart or friendly he was, all anyone ever saw was his scar. The red head's companion started to get very excited, and began to speak to him, his voice pitched too low for Houjun to overhear.   
As if things couldn't get any worse, Hikou, now completely drunk, (A/N: Too much 151 will do that to you folks O.O) accidentally spilled his drink all over the guys at the next table.   
"You BASTARD" One of the men shrieked, obviously every bit as drunk as Hikou. He jumped to his feet and took a swing at Hikou. Fortunately for Hikou, he missed. Not so fortunately for Houjun, Hikou decided to use Houjun as a human shield.   
"Save me Houjun!" He cried, grabbing Houjun and pulling him in front of him. The man grinned evilly, grabbing a bottle and breaking it. Houjun felt a flush of icy fear, this guy wasn't playing, he was serious.   
"Let go, Hikou!" Houjun began to struggle, but Hikou, paralyzed with fear, held him in place.   
"So, we'll see just how long you're going to hide behind your little friend." He slurred, swinging the bottle toward Houjun. Accepting the inevitable, Houjun closed his eyes and braced himself. He had fought for his life before, he would do it again.   
The blow never struck.   
Houjun opened his eyes tentatively to see his attacker laying prone under the red head's foot. He had to admit, in that moment, no one had ever looked more beautiful.   


"I don't think so pal." Genroe growled, just dying to crush the bastard under his foot. Whether or not he remembered his past, Chichiri was HIS, and he was damned if he was going to let anyone else lay a hand on him now that he'd found him.   
"Hey get off of him you jerk!" The attacker's friends decided to take charge and teach the redhead kid a lesson. They made it all of a few feet before Taka sent them flying into a wall. Reincarnated or not, being a Seishi had definite benefits.   
"I wouldn't do that again fellas," Taka said cheerfully as he watched the men cower in the corner, "my friend there is a bit of a hot head."   
"HE's a hot head . . ." one muttered incredulously as they ran, in unison, out the nearest door. The punk on the floor wasn't so easily frightened, however.   
"I'll get you for this." He muttered darkly, his face still press to the floor by Genroe's foot.   
"Go ahead and try." Genroe laughed. "The Name is Kou Genroe, leader of the Red Dragon gang."   
"The Red Dragon gang, they're nothing but a bunch of High School thugs!" The man yelled back. Genroe shrugged, easing his foot up enough to let the punk slither away.   
"If you're so damn sure of yourself you're welcome to take us on any time. Me and my boys will be waiting." 

Houjun was torn between a number of emotions. The first was very definitely relief, whoever these guys were they obviously knew how to handle themselves. The second was disappointment. Kou Genroe huh? It would seem that this stranger was not the mysterious Tasuki after all. Houjun tried to shrug away his disappointment, after all, it's not like he actually thought Tasuki was real or anything.   
"Thanks a lot." He said tentatively, and was once again wrapped in a heated gaze of burning amber.   
"No problem. I'm Ta- Genroe, by the way. Me'n Tam- er Taka over here saw that things were getting a little out of hand and . . ." Genroe trailed off. Gods, Chiri was so fuckin beautiful. Same scar, same face, same toned body . . . Taka decided to intervene before Tasuki said something he'd regret.   
"Hey, how about we help you out with your friend over there?" He said, gesturing to Hikou, who was now passed out in drunken oblivion.   
"Oh no, no da!" Houjun cried, bending down to shake Hikou awake.   
"Hey, don't worry about it." Taka said, grinning. "We'll just call a cab for him." He pulled Hikou over his shoulder and started to drag him and Genroe outside.   
"I'll be right there no da, I just need to pay the bar tab." Houjun called, cringing as he took out his wallet. After a lot of arguing with the owner over who would pay for the damages, they finally came to an agreement. Houjun sighed as he turned to walk out of the door, he was just grateful that the disaster was over. He left the bar and found the others perched on a car, obviously waiting for the cab.   
"I say we just take him back with us and get it over with." Taka said solemnly.   
Houjun stopped in his tracks.   
"Shit Taka, you don't actually think he'd willingly go along with us do you?"   
"He doesn't have to be willing at first, and after it's all over he'll thank us."   
Houjun's blood ran cold. He had heard those words before, and they had not been meant kindly.   
Images of af a group of men in a dark alley flew before his eyes. Images that still haunted him.   
His mind flew back to the present and his body was instantly caught between fight or flight. These men were no saviors, they were thugs, no better than the men they had saved him from. He had to get Hikou away from them.   
"Hold it!" He cried, sticking his hand into his coat pocket and making it bulge out. The two men swung around, their expressions betraying their guilt.   
"Shit! Chichi- I mean Houjun, it's not what it sounded like!"   
"I have a gun." Houjun said coldly, shutting the red head up. "I don't care what it sounded like, get the hell away from Hikou." He moved his hand a little, making it appear that he was cocking his "gun". He was amazed that he was able to maintain this facade, his heart was racing a mile a minute and his legs felt like jelly. 

"Er, Genroe, maybe we should go." Taka said softly, moving away from Hikou very carefully.   
"Hell no!" Genroe growled, switching to Chinese and praying that Houjun hadn't gotten around to learning it in this lifetime. "I ain't leaving him, Taka. Especially not like this."   
"We can give him his memories back later, Tasuki." Taka replied in the same language. "Look at him, he's terrified of us. He's been hurt . . . badly. You won't help him by forcing the issue now." He grabbed Genroe's arm and started to pull him away, retreating under Houjun's accusatory glare. 

Genroe felt his heart break a little as he walked away, listening to Houjun cry out Hikou's name   
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Well, what do you guys think? Good? Bad? Indifferent? 


	3. The Book of the Universe of the Four God...

A/N: Well, here's the next Chapter. Did I break the last one off too suddenly? I'm not completely satisfied with it, so maybe I'll go back and edit it when I have time.   
I just got all of Yami no Matsuei, what a great anime!!!!!!! The ending is sooooooooo sweet. ((((sigh)))) And I must say, Hisoka is cute. I'm thinking of writing a Yami no Matsuei/ Gravitation crossover (((although my friend is kind of skeptical about it)))   
Anyway, random enough for you? Ok, I'll just shut up now.   
P.S. Reading back I will admit that Miaka is fairly OOC in this chapter. Part of that is intentional, I wanted to show that she had grown and matured somewhat. If it's too OOC I can always go back and re-write this one too.   
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"You guys are back early." Miaka said, becoming concerned when she saw Genroe half sit, half collapse onto the couch. She raised an eyebrow at Taka but he just shook his head and shuffled off to the bathroom. Oh well, she could grill him later, Genroe, on the other hand, looked as if his heart was about to break. Something's gone wrong, Miaka thought, feeling an icy chill run down her spine. Visions of a reincarnated Nakago flew through her head. She walked over and knelt down, taking hold of one of Genroe's hands.   
"Tasuki, what happened?"   
"Chichiri, was at the bar . . ." He trailed off, hunching forward and placing his head in his hands. She looked up at Taka, who had emerged from the bathroom and was staring down at Genroe with a pensive expression.   
"There was a little scuffle at the bar, nothing big," Taka hastened to explain, "no one was hurt. Chichiri and his friend were in trouble so the two of us helped them out. Afterwards we got in an argument over whether to bring him back here and Chichiri overheard. I'm afraid he got the wrong idea." Miaka bit her lip, restraining herself from pointing out that it was probably only natural for Chichiri to be wary of a couple of strange men who wanted to take him home.   
"He was so scared." That was Tasuki, his voice rough, as if he was fighting to get the words out. "Miaka, the way he looked at me . . .I would never hurt him, NEVER."   
"Chichiri had a rough past in the previous life, do you think that's what it is?"   
"Even back then, he never acted like this." Genroe shook his head.   
"Hikou!" Taka said suddenly, "He was drinking with Hikou. But if Hikou's still alive, then why does Chichiri have the scar?" Genroe's eyes darkened with anger and he lunged to his feet.   
"I don't know, but I'm damn well going to find out." He grabbed his coat, getting half-way across the room before Miaka stopped him.   
"Tasuki-"   
"I know where he goes to school. I'll just ask around campus until I find him."   
"Let me handle it." She said simply, stepping between Genroe and the door. If he was surprised at her insistence he didn't show it. In fact, his face didn't show anything, a testimony to the severity of his anger. Miaka hesitated, she didn't want to come between Tasuki and Chichiri, but in his current state Tasuki would only make the situation worse. Chichiri would no doubt pick up on his anger and would probably misinterpret it.   
"Let me handle it." She repeated, "Please Tasuki, just trust me."   
After a long moment he nodded.   
* * *   
(the next day)   
_Chichiri grimaced at the pain lancing through his side. This black fire was powerful enough to break his barrier even though he was channeling all of his power into it. He could feel the burn eating away at his life energy. Another hit like that and it would be over._   
_"Run Chiri." Tasuki gasped, blood and tears running down his face. He lifted the tessen, arms shaking, and pointed it at Chichiri. He could see the battle in Tasuki's eyes, the demon was fighting to regain control. "Please," Tasuki gasped, "just . . .run. . ."_   
_The black aura began to gather around Tasuki once again. It had regained control. The creature who was not Tasuki laughed, gathering it's power for the final shot. Chichiri gathered his power as well. He knew what he had to do and he could only pray that Tasuki would forgive him._   
_He ignored the demon's attempts to torment him. The hateful insults flew by, unnoticed. This creature had Tasuki's voice, Tasuki's body, but not Tasuki himself. Somewhere, deep inside, Tasuki's soul still fought._   
_Chichiri looked into the demon's eyes, hoping desperately that somewhere behind those eyes, the real Tasuki could still see him._   
_"I love you Tasuki," he said softly._   
_And then the world caught fire._   
_* * *_   
A knock on the door jerked Houjun awake. He was cold, horribly cold, and shaking.   
That last one was a bad one, he thought, rubbing his arms fiercely to try to regain some warmth. He knew better than to try to remember the dream, all he would gain from the attempt would be a horrid headache. The knock came again, and he dragged himself out of bed. Fortunately, he had fallen asleep fully clothed, so he stumbled over to the door. It was probably Hikou, come to bitch about his hangover and get the details of what had happened after he had passed out.   
It wasn't Hikou.   
It was a girl. Which was strange, because the only girl he talked to was Mai-Lin. He half expected her to run off, or to apologize and tell him that she'd gotten the wrong apartment, but she did neither. She didn't even flinch away from the sight of his scar. She just stood there, staring at him, with a strange little half smile on her face. It was funny, even though he KNEW that he hadn't seen her before, she seemed . . familiar.   
"Can I help you?" he asked hesitantly. She shook herself and smiled sheepishly.   
"Sorry, I just . . .blanked out for a minute. You're Ri Houjun?" It sounded more like a statement than a question but he answered anyway.   
"Yes, I am."   
"My name is Tsukinami Miaka. I'm the wife of the blue haired idiot you met at the bar last night."   
There was a long moment of silence.   
"I . . see . . " He said hesitantly, trying to decide whether he was appalled, uncomfortable, or just completely surprised. Probably some of all three. A thug like that wouldn't send his wife out to get revenge, would he?   
"May I come in?" She asked, smiling sweetly. She seemed harmless enough so, after a moment of indecision, he let her in. She walked in, setting her purse down on the couch before turning and bowing very low.   
"I want to apologize for my husband and his friend. I think you misinterpreted their intentions, but even so, they shouldn't have frightened you."   
"Uh-" Houjun was at a loss for words. "That's all right, I accept your apology." He finally said stiffly. Now please get the hell out of here so that I don't have to deal with you, your husband, or his friend, was what he wanted to say. Something stopped him. There was some part of himself that felt oddly protective of this girl. It was the same part of himself that told him that not all people were bad, that closing himself off from the world would only hurt him.   
Occupied as he was with this internal dialogue, he missed her next question and had to ask her to repeat herself.   
"I was just wondering what your major was."   
* * * 

"Take out again?" Genroe sighed, poking through his food dejectedly.   
"Would you rather have Miaka cook?" Taka pointed out. Genroe turned green and shook his head rapidly before turning to look at the door for what had to have been the hundred and eleventh time that evening.   
"Enough, already, she'll get back when she gets back." He said, snaking a hand out while Genroe was distracted and snatching a dumpling off of his plate.   
Gold eyes narrowed.   
Blue eyes narrowed.   
"I'm home . . ." Miaka called, trailing off when she heard the unmistakable sound of fighting from the kitchen. If they wrecked the kitchen again . . .but now wasn't the time to deal with this. She turned around, ushering Houjun in the front door. "Please, make yourself at home." She smiled, wincing inwardly as a particularly loud crack punctuated the end of her sentence. Houjun turned to look at the kitchen with wide eyes.   
" I'm HOME." She called again, loud enough this time so that the two in the kitchen could hear her. The sounds of fighting immediately stopped. After a moment the two emerged, looking slightly flustered but otherwise unharmed.   
"Welcome back," Taka said, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. He turned to Houjun. "It's Houjun right? We're real sorry about last night aren't we . . .Genroe?"   
Genroe felt the apology stick in his throat as his eyes locked with Houjun's. He could feel a blush rise up on his face and he cursed inwardly, he probably looked like some love sick teenager. Hell, he was a love sick teenager.   
There was a long moment of awkward silence as everyone stared at everyone else.   
* * * 

Houjun sipped his tea, listening to the conversation between the three. The meeting had been a bit awkward but they seemed normal enough, so he allowed himself to relax a bit and enjoy their company. They were obviously very good friends, you could tell from their easy bantering. They even went so far as to include him, drawing him into their group as if he had always been a part of it. It was nice, he though suddenly. He hadn't felt this close to anyone since he and Hikou had had their falling out. Even after, when they had made up, they hadn't been as close. But this, this felt good, it felt familiar. It felt so familiar that Houjun had to shake his head too keep a strange double image from appearing in front of his eyes. He rubbed his eyes, wondering if there really was something wrong with him after all. He opened his eyes, only to catch the red head, Genroe, staring at him. He saw a blush rising on Genroe's face and felt his own face begin to blush in response. Houjun looked down at his watch, anything to break eye contact, and was amazed at how much time had passed.   
"Um, Mrs. Tsukinami, It's getting fairly late . . ." He began.   
"Please, just call me Miaka." She said. "I'm sorry, I totally forgot." She turned back to her husband. "Houjun told me he was studying Chinese History and I told him that we had an ancient Chinese manuscript he might be interested in."   
"We do?" Taka asked cluelessly. There was a muffled thump as Miaka and Genroe kicked him under the table. "Oh, OH . . ." His eyes widened as enlightenment dawned. "Uh, yeah, I'll just go and get it for you Houjun." He said, limping out of the kitchen.   
"I have to admit you've caught my curiosity." Houjun said, sipping his tea. "I haven't heard of any rare Chinese manuscripts that are still privately owned. My Professor has dedicated his career to finding documents like this and buying them for the University's collection."   
Genore and Miaka exchanged a look. "Well, this one isn't very well known. In fact, very few people know that it exists at all." Taka returned, placing a book down in front of Houjun.   
Houjun felt his excitement begin to rise, this looked like the real thing, and it was in remarkably good condition for it's age. "The Book of the Universe of the Four Gods." He read softly, feeling a strange, buzzing sensation begin to build in the back of his head. He ignored it, opening to the first page with shaking hands.   
"This is the story of a girl who made her dreams come true, after she came to posses the seven stars of Suzaku, and many powers were bestowed upon her." The roaring in his head was growing now, and he had to fight to focus his eyes, but try as he might, he couldn't tear his eyes off the page.   
"The story itself is a spell, whoever reads it will be given the powers and granted a wish, just like the girl in the story. Because, the story begins and becomes real the moment the first page is turned . . ."   
*****************************************************************   
Um well, that's it for Chapter three. Hope you liked it. 


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